The Sock Drawer
by My-Crazy-Awesome-Sox
Summary: Drabbles and oneshots and random plot bunnies, oh my! Newest Chapter: In Ancient Greece, throwing an applet to a woman was considered a marriage proposal.
1. Piece of Heaven

**A/N: **Hey! Sooo...I'm in a oneshot mood apparently and decided to make this a dropbox for all of the ones that are under a couple of thousand words-except 'Nightmares', that one I like having on its own. I am working on three chapter stories for SM right now, but I've decided I won't post them until they are done or nearly so to avoid the dreaded 'On Perminent Hiatus' bit. I wrote this one as from a quick shot of inspiration after hearing Cascada's Piece of Heaven for the first time in who knows how many years. Hope you get a bit of enjoyment out of it!

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**Piece of Heaven**

She'd been trying to sleep for hours. She wasn't really sure what had woken her up, or more accurately what was keeping her up, but her body felt like a livewire, like she'd gone through half of her candy stash in under an hour. It wasn't necessarily a jittery feeling though, just…aware. Aware of everything. Aware of the comfortable silence in the small apartment. Aware of the not quite full darkness thanks to the ever-bright Tokyo lights. Aware of the soft mattress and mellow cotton sheets that she lay on. And most of all, aware of the warm body that lay spooned behind her, his slow breaths ghosting across the back of her neck, one strong arm wrapped around her waist. It wasn't so long ago, very recently in fact, that she thought she'd never have this again.

It had been just over a month after the battle with Galexia and she supposed she was still taking everything in. It wasn't as bad with the girls; they'd really only been gone for the last battle, however long it had been—she still wasn't that sure. Sometimes she could go days pretending it never happened—that they'd never died; that she'd never had to see them, hold them as they died. Then she'd wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, thinking that maybe it was the last few weeks that had been the dream and that they'd never actually come back to her. It was those times that she'd feel like the world was empty and she'd never be happy again. She'd fumble for her communicator on those nights, sometimes she'd press the 'group call' button so she could see all of their faces, but more often it would just be one—if one of them answered then it meant they had all come back. She knew she was being a bit silly and worried what they'd all think if they were all being called every night.

With Mamoru, though, it was different. She'd lived six months without him there. At first she'd tried to convince herself of what she had told everyone else. He was enjoying America. He was busy studying. He just didn't have time for her right then, but that was ok because they had their entire lives to be together when he got back. She'd known, though. The whole time she knew somewhere inside herself that he was gone. She'd felt something that day, not two hours after she'd left him at the airport. She'd tried to convince herself it was just hard to know he was going to be so far away, that she needed to push past the pain and be the strong girlfriend he deserved. But she'd know he wasn't coming back. The whole time she'd known. Six months she'd lived without him and while she never got _used_ to the idea, it had become her new normal—however painful. Now that he was back it was…strange. Wonderful, of course, but strange. As the complete opposite of the scouts, she could go hours—once she'd gone two whole days—forgetting he was back. During those times she was calm, but hollow. She felt dull and listless and like she could barely remember what it was like to be happy. One time she'd been on her way to the Crown, shoulders slumped and walking very slowly. Then he'd been there, walking towards her from the other end of the block. She'd stopped and just stared, openmouthed. The day got brighter and her heart leapt with joy at seeing his smiling face. Another time she'd just been moping around the house and he'd called. Her heart had stopped when she'd seen his name on the phone. And then it filtered back to her. He was alive and she could talk to him, hold him whenever she wanted.

Usagi turned and shifted in the bed so she was laying on her back instead of her side and could look at his sleeping face. He grunted as her shifting jostled the bed and half opened his sleep bleary eyes. "Usako…?" he mumbled, obviously not really aware of the waking world.

She brought her small hand up to lovingly stroke his cheek. "Shh…Everything's fine, Mamo-chan. Go back to sleep." She kept her voice as low and soothing as she could. He hummed in compliance and tightened his grip on her waist, bringing her closer to him as he nuzzled her neck below her ear. She did her best to hold in her giggle. He was so cute when he was like this. The stress and the walls he still kept up melted away and nothing but innocence and contentment showed through. The warmth in her chest grew and she felt loved and…happy. That was it, she realized. That was why sleep evaded her so. This was the first time she felt well and _truly_ happy since he'd given her the ring at the airport. As she let that thought wash over her, mixing and mingling with the wonderfully cozy warmth from his wonderfully alive body, she smiled. It wasn't forced, it wasn't hampered by sadness, and it didn't fade after only a few moments. It had been a completely ordinary day spent with her not so ordinary friends and her wonderfully extraordinary boyfriend. Nothing special…except for the fact that it was. She was happy and she let her body relax.

There was nothing to worry about.

Nothing important she had to get done.

All she had to do was relax and enjoy this moment of bliss.

Her own little piece of heaven.


	2. Moon on the Water

**A/N:** I'm not completely happy with the way this one came out, but I'm happy enough. It's a sad one though; be warned: character death. This came to me as I was pondering the phrase 'moonlight on the water'...and watching a crime drama. Blame the plot bunnies. lol

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**Moon on the Water**

They say there's nothing more beautiful than the moon on the water. Mamoru couldn't disagree more.

They didn't know about the issue until they checked into the campgrounds. It concerned them of course, it was a very concerning matter, but in a way it only convinced them to stay more. They had booked a small cabin in a national park for the weekend so they could spend some much needed time together. Mamoru was between residency assignments and Usagi between semesters and they hadn't really had time to themselves since their honeymoon. As soon as the caretaker told them about the two women who'd gone missing in the last month Mamoru knew his Usako would want to do everything she could to find out what was going on. One look at her crystalline eyes and Mamoru sighed heavily inside and assured the caretaker that they would be extra careful and would call the police if anything went wrong.

He now knew that it would be a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

At the time he'd chuckled at his wife when she'd nearly said she changed her mind when it came to light that there was an outhouse instead of a bathroom in the cabin. Now he wished he'd jumped at the chance to go home. It was late when he'd woken up to a cold bed. After a minute of clearing his sleep addled mind, he'd been up like a shot. "Usako?" No answer. He padded through the small cabin. She wasn't there. What the caretaker had told them raced through his mind and he didn't take the time to dress past the boxers and T-shirt he'd already had on before rushing outside. How much he'd hoped that she'd just be in the outhouse. Had the situation been any different he may have laughed at that thought. Instead he nearly cried when he found it to be empty. "Usako?!" He tried to sense her, tried to let his heart lead him to where she was. He broke out in a cold sweat when he had to actually search for it…and couldn't breathe when it was so faint that he could barely feel it. He ran towards it like he'd never run before, ignoring the rocks and detritus that dug into his bare feet.

The sight that met him brought him to his knees and time slowed to a near stop. The adrenalin that poured through his system threw everything—every sense—into high relief. He'd come out of the trees and on to the beach of a lake. The sand was cool on his skin as it dug into his shins and sifted through his fingers. The soft breeze ruffled his already sleep tussled locks. The sound of the water gently lapping onto the shore just feet from him barely registered over the pounding of his heart in his ears. The water was dark with the reflection of the midnight blue sky, but he could not pull his eyes away from the reflection of the full moon on the water. It encircled her as if trying to protect her…too late, much too late.

She was face down, floating a few yards out on the lake with her arms and legs splayed. Her long white nightgown both clung to her small form and drifted about her, glowing in the moonlight. Her hair was loose from its normal style as it had not been when they'd gone to bed. It moved and undulated about her with the small waves on the lake. She looked as if she were made of moonlight and marble—cold and lifeless.

A strangled sound tore from his throat as time once again sped to normal pace. He tried to shout her name, but he couldn't draw the breath—couldn't make his heart beat. With all the strength he could muster Mamoru pushed off the sand and dashed into the water disregarding the icy feel against his skin. His breath was hard and fast and irregular as he reached her and clutched her to him. His only words, his only thoughts, were her name; over and over again, more desperate, more anguished with each repetition. He pulled her to shore, laid her out as gently as his over-tense muscles could. His fingers moved on autopilot as his medical training kicked into gear, checking for a pulse, checking pupil dilation, all the while not being able to wrench his eyes from her lips that were far too blue. CPR was second nature to him now and while his head knew what he had to do, his heart was screaming at the thought of pressing too hard, of possibly breaking her small, fragile body. But he tried, oh how he tried. Time had no meaning. How long did he compress and breath and compress and breath, praying she'd cough up the liquid in her lungs and look at him with those china-blue eyes that he loved so much? An hour? Two? Surely he'd kept going long after he knew it was too late. How could he just stop? How could he stop trying? How could he admit that she was well and truly gone?

But at some point he did stop. He wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision. One moment of awareness he was breathing into her still, cold mouth once again, the next he sat beside her, arms wrapped around knees brought up to his chest like a small child. It was then he allowed himself to cry. He cried because she was right beside him, and yet she was gone. He cried because her there was no light in her eyes and no smile on her lips. He cried because he'd failed her. He cried because this was the first time he realized that she was more than just half of him.


	3. Apples

**A/N:** OMG! I finally started writing again! Ok, so it's short, but hopefully it will get me back into the swing of things after that bitch of a semester. I also have another project in the works called Save the Hero, based on the song by Beyonce.

- **Also!** To understand the point of this story, you must know that I thought it up after finding out that in ancient Greece, throwing an apple to a woman was considered a marriage proposal. #SnappleFacts

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**Apples**

"Mamo-chan, I'm hungry." She whined pathetically, giving the man her most soulful puppy-dog eyes. She was spralled on his couch while he sat deep in concentration over some homework assignment.

"You're always hungry." He replied evenly, not looking up from his studies.

She gave him a small glare and tried not to smile at how cute he looked all hunched over his textbooks on the coffee table, dark bangs hanging in his eyes. "Meanie," she said plaintively.

He tried not to grin as he hunched farther over his history text, continuing the charade that he was ignoring her. He cut her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye and suggested in a mock innocent tone, "There are some odango in the fridge."

This time he couldn't stop his chuckles as she stuck her tongue out at him. She folded her arms over her chest. "I want something sweet."

He smiled to himself. Of course she did. "I think there is an apple or two on the counter." She gave him a frustrated huff and flopped back on the couch. Finally he looked at her. "What? Apples are sweet."

"Can't you just give me a _little_ something from your secret chocolate stash?" she pleaded.

He rolled his eyes at her. "I keep telling you, Usako, I don't _have_ a secret chocolate stash." He actually did, but if he told her that he would 1, never hear the end of it and 2, never have any chocolate left.

She didn't look like she believed him, but finally gave an exasperated huff and push herself up from the couch. "Fine, be that way." She semi-stomped into the kitchen and Mamoru gave a little sigh of relief that he could finally get back to his studying. "Mamo-chan, I can't eat this! It's got a huge bruise on it!" Damn, spoke too soon.

_'Well if you'd been more careful helping me unpack the groceries…'_ "It's fine, Usako, a bruise doesn't mean it's poisoned."

"But what if it has _worms_ in it?! Ami-chan said that fruit can be bruised because baby worms were eating it." She looked positively disgusted.

"It doesn't have worms." He rolled his eyes again at his girlfriend's dramatics. "Here, give it to me." She padded over and dropped the red fruit into his hands before arranging herself on the couch once more, looking at him suspiciously. With little fanfare, he bit into the apple and removed the entire bruised portion. The spongy texture wasn't all that appetizing, but it wouldn't kill him. After he swallowed he tossed the now bruise-free apple to the pouting girl and smile affectionately as she clumsily caught it with both hands. "Better?" he asked, raising a dark brow.

"Hai," she grumbled and took her own bite out of the crisp fruit. Something struck him then and he couldn't help but laugh out loud. This time it was Usagi's turn to raise one fine eyebrow. "What?" she questioned, shifting self-consciously.

He chuckled again, but shook his head, ignoring her apprehensive glare as he lifted himself onto the couch beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I love you, my Usako," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver. He then leaned forward and gave her a deliciously deep and languorous kiss. Her slightly dazed and confused expression when he pulled back made him laugh. She blinked as he gave her another quick kiss on her lips. "Mmmm…sweet," he teased as the petite girl snapped back to reality, gave another exasperated huff and pushed herself off her boyfriend's lap.

She turned her nose up at his amused laughter, but smiled back at him as soon as he turned away back to his books. She'd just have to pester him about what was so funny about her eating an apple later. If she didn't let him study now, he wouldn't be willing to take her out to dinner that evening. Maybe she could entertain herself by looking for that chocolate stash just once more…


End file.
